The Love Note
by SilveryMoons
Summary: When Arnold is dared to write a fake love note to Helga, things get a bit hectic. More like a lot hectic. Can he stop things from going further than he expected? HxA COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Oh, wow. I can't believe I've actually made time to get into the habit of writing HA! fics again. But I'm so happy I could. I've made a fresh start, and I have deleted my older stories due to the fact that I've read them over, and they weren't very good. I hope you enjoy this story. I'll try my best to update it as much as possible. Remember to review, please. (:**

Summary: When Arnold is dared to write a fake love note to Helga, things get a bit hectic. More like a lot hectic. Can he stop things from going farther than he expected? HxA

Chapter 1

High school...how can one describe it? For some, it can be the most delightful time of their young years, filled with fun and surprises. However, a lot of people find it hard to describe it as being so great. Being as it's also filled with drama, heartbreak, misunderstandments, and tears, how could it possibly be absolutely perfect? Okay, so maybe it's not that bad. But it's definitely far from delightful during the whole entire 4 years that you're there. Some people would be overjoyed to have one good day; people like that one girl in pink: Helga Pataki.

"So, Helga," Phoebe said to her best friend, "have you gotten your invitation to Rhonda's party?"

Looking down at the petite Japanese girl quizically, the girl in the long-sleeved, pink t-shirt, denim jeans, and black sneakers, shook her head. "Phoebe, haven't you realized that everytime one of these little "social gatherings" goes on, I'm never invited? I don't see why you even bother asking me anymore."

"Well, there's always a chance that---"

"A chance that what?" Helga rolled her eyes, and sighed angrily. "Look, I don't even care. Who would want to go to one of her stupid little parties anyway? All I ever hear about them are how this person got wasted, and that person kissed that person." She gave a look of disgust.

"I suppose you are right, but I don't think they're as bad as you're imagining them to be. Maybe you're just exaggerating a bit?"

"I'm not exaggerating at all. Now, just drop it, okay? I wasn't invited, I don't care. Case closed." With that, Helga slammed her locker shut, and headed towards her class.

"Hey Helga!" A voice called from behind her. She jumped, startled a bit, and turned around quickly. It was Arnold. "What do you want, Arnoldo? You're going to run me late for class!"

"Sorry, sorry. I was just wanting to know, are you going to Rhonda's party tonight?"

"No, I wasn't invited and I wish everyone would just lay off of me about it."

The blonde boy shrugged, not understanding her snippy attitude, as usual. "Well, I was just wondering. You're never invited to her parties, and I thought it'd be nice if you were actually at this one. I heard it's supposed to be her final one of the school year."

"Yeah, that's great. Run along, now." Helga rolled her eyes, and turned her back towards him, walking away.

Arnold shook his head, and sighed. He never understood that girl. One minute she'd be fine, the next she'd snap. The only person she really talked to was Phoebe, even though he had tried time after time to have a conversation with her, but it never worked. She was like this big jigsaw puzzle he just couldn't solve, but oh, did he want to.

The first period bell rang, and it was the beginning of a long day.

**A/N: I'm sorry it was so short. But I have limited thoughts for some chapters. :x Chapter 2 will be up as soon as possible, though. Please review and tell me what you think, give any advice, ideas for further chapters, and whatnot. Hope you enjoyed it. (:**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Before I continue on with chapter 3, I'm going to take this time now to thank everyone who reviewed. (: I'm keeping my word, and unless something happens, I won't keep you guys waiting too long between each chapter. Anyway, here's chapter 2. Hope you enjoy. **

* * *

"So, Rhonda...I'm guessing you have your party fully planned out now, right?" A red-haired girl in a jean skirt and blue tank top asked.

"Yeah, but I'm afraid it's not going to be as exciting as my other ones." Rhonda, now with long, dark hair, designer jeans, and an expensive red shirt, sighed glumly.

"Whatever do you mean? Your past parties were so cool." Lila's smile disappeared and formed into a slight frown after hearing this.

"Mommy and Daddy found out about the alcohol. So, I had to come up with new ways to keep people entertained. But all of my ideas suck!"

"What about a long game of "Truth Or Dare?" That could work out perfectly."

"Lila, Lila, Lila. That game is so childish. Who wants to play a game where the questions are constantly along the lines of, 'oh, do you like anyone?' I think people would get tired of that after a while."

"Childish? Are you kidding me? Rhonda, just think. Deep, dark secrets can be revealed. People we don't like can get humiliated. Who can get tired of that?"

The dark-haired girl's eyes lit up at the thought of her worst enemy, Helga, being humiliated at school. Being scarred for life based on one small dare. "Oh, I love having smart friends."

Lila smirked and giggled girlishly. "You're thinking of ways to make Helga sorry for ever bullying you, aren't you?"

"Precisely." Rhonda laughed. "This is going to be one hell of a party."

* * *

"Ugh, Lila this is hopeless!" Rhonda shouted about 5 hours later back at her house. "This is what I've been wanting to do forever, it's 20 minutes before the party, and we can't find a way to embarrass her!"

"Oh, come on. We'll find a way. We always do."

"Doll, how are we going to do it anyway if she's not even here? There's no way I'm inviting her...I'm not that desperate."

Lila contemplated that for a few moments. Did she have to physically be there in order to get her good? "Well, can't someone else get involved in it?"

Rhonda stopped pacing back and forth, and looked straight at Lila, interested. "What do you have in mind?"

Leaning in, the red-haired girl whispered her brilliant idea in her best friend's ear. "Lila...I said it before and I'll say it again, you're a genius!"

_Ding-dong!_ The girls squealed and ran downstairs, and Rhonda opened the door. "Arnold, doll! So glad you could make it. Come in, we have something very interesting planned."

**

* * *

**

**A/N: And the trouble begins in paradise. So, Arnold's being dragged into their devious plan to bring Helga down. Will he go through with it? Find out in the next chapter. (: Please review, as well...and share any ideas or suggestions you have. I'm all ears to everything you guys have to tell me. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: ****Yeah, I decided to revise parts of this chapter. BunniGirl (thank you!) pointed something out to me, and that was that Arnold caved into the dare too quickly. After reading that review, I realized it was true. So thanks for pointing that out. (: I hope you all enjoy the revised chapter.**

Suddenly, Arnold began to feel unsure about this party. The look on the girls' faces made him think that he was about to be dragged into something, and he didn't like that feeling at all. "Uh, what exactly do you have planned?"

"You'll see very soon." Lila said, and smiled. "We'll just have to wait until everyone else gets here…it's too good for them to miss out on."

Arnold looked at Rhonda, who seemed to be in deep thought. "Rhonda, you okay?"

The tall girl smirked. "Yeah, I'm just fine." She chuckled a little bit. "I'm just thinking about how I wish the other guests would get here soon."

"It's that good? I'm getting a bad feeling about this, you guys…"

"Oh, don't be silly. Once you here about what we have planned, I'm sure you'll be just as excited as us, if not more." Lila giggled girlishly. "Don't worry so much."

**(A/N: I'm just going to skip to when the other guests arrive…I hope that's okay. I just think it'd be better if I didn't drag it out too much.)**

"All right, you guys! I hope you all don't think this game is ever so childish, but we have a lot of ideas lined up." Lila smirked. "Who's up for a cruel game of Truth or Dare?"

There were a bunch of scattered responses, some more excited than others, but nevertheless, the majority of the crowd seemed anxious to see what Lila and Rhonda had in mind.

"Perfect." Rhonda smiled. "Remember the rules, everyone. If you pick truth, you can not avoid the question, and you can certainly not lie. Also, if you pick dare, there is no way to back down from it." Everyone nodded at this, agreeing to what she was saying. "Okay. Who should I pick first…?"

"I think Arnold should!" Lila spoke up. "He's been waiting ever so patiently all night to find out what we have planned for him. It would be so unfair to keep him waiting any longer."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Her friend laughed. "So Arnold, truth or dare?"

Arnold was now at a loss, since he had no idea what to pick. He did know, however, that he wanted to avoid their plan as much as possible, but he knew that there was probably a 50/50 chance that he would get caught in their trap. Picking randomly, without really thinking that long, he decided, "dare."

"Great choice." Rhonda smiled widely. "Arnold, I dare you to write a fake love note to Helga G. Pataki."

The whole room burst into laughter, but Arnold wasn't. "Are you crazy? That's just mean! I can't do it."

"Oh, come on. Think about how hilarious it would be!" The red-haired girl whined.

"It wouldn't be funny at all, Lila. How is playing with any girls' emotions funny? I'm sure if you got a fake love note from a guy, you wouldn't be laughing."

"This isn't about me, Arnold. This is about her. She's been treating people like crap forever. Especially you. This girl desperately needs a taste of her own medicine. She needs to be put into her place!"

"Lila, two wrongs don't make a right! You're saying I should stoop down to her level? She hasn't even done things to anyone that are half as bad as this."

"Oh come on Arnold, you always complain about her, man. This is your shot to one up her." Gerald tried to convince.

"Forget it. If you all are that anxious to do it, find someone else. But I will not be the one to do it."

"Aw, is Arnold afraid?" Harold taunted.

"I'm not _afraid_, Harold. It's just not the right thing to do." Arnold sighed….all of these kids were putting him under so much pressure, and it was starting to get to him."

"I think Harold's right, for once." Rhonda stated. "You _are _afraid of her, aren't you? You're afraid that she's going to 'beat you into pulp with Old Betsy and The Five Avengers.'" The room burst into loud laughter once again.

"Guys, just stop it! This is getting way out of hand."

"Come on, Arnold…there's no reason to be afraid." Stinky pressured. "Helga always threatens to beat people up, and then, she never does!"

"Exactly, man. She's all talk." Gerald rolled his eyes. "Mmm, I never thought I'd see the day where you were afraid of her."

"Stop with the whole 'me being afraid of her' thing! I'm not afraid of her!" Arnold yelled.

"Then do it." Lila sneered.

"No."

"Listen, Arnold…" Rhonda began, "as you can see, we all want this. We all want her to see how it feels to be treated badly. Hell, I bet _you_ want her to see how it feels. Considering you're somebody that she would never expect to do something like that, obviously, you're perfect for the part. Come on, now…don't let all of us down."

As he was about to say, "I'm not doing it," once again, an idea came over him. He could write the note…but it didn't have to get to her.

Arnold sighed. "Fine. I'll do it."

**A/N: **So, he's not planning on Helga getting the note…but how well will that turn out? You'll find out soon. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter…the next one should be up within a week. Bye. (:


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Yeah, chapter 4 is finally here. (: It took me a while to plan it out and such, but it was worth it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter…I hope you all enjoy this one.**

"You will?" Lila smiled brightly, and then chuckled. "Yet another great choice, Arnold. This will be a _ton _of fun."

"Yeah, uh…I'm sure it will." Arnold said, feeling uneasy about the whole situation.

"Now, it's completely up to you on how you want to write it, however, it _has _to be good. Think it through, and at school tomorrow, Lila and I will make one-hundred percent sure that you wrote it. Do we have a deal?"

"I…I guess so."

"Fabulous." Rhonda handed him a blue pen and a piece of regular, lined paper. "This would be a great time to get started."

Sighing, Arnold made his way over to the big desk, setting down the paper and pen. '_This is going to be so hard. At least I can make sure she won't get it._' He thought to himself. Picking up the pen, he began writing, not exactly thinking through it as much as Rhonda and Lila wanted him to.

_**Helga,**_

_****__**You'll be surprised to hear this, but I love you.**_

_****_"Ugh, yeah, that's great." He rolled his eyes, and quickly crossed it out. "I can't believe I even agreed to this." Arnold mumbled to himself, and sighed once again.

_**Helga.**_

_****__**Throughout these years of knowing each other, we've went through a lot. You and I never exactly got along, since you've always made fun of me, pushed me around, and such. But to be completely honest, I've gotten used to it. This might shock you, I know it shocked me when I realized it, but I thought about it for a long time, and came to a conclusion that I love you, Helga. I love every little thing about you. I see through what you show everyone…and what I see is a sweet, loving, and caring girl. Over these years, you've grown to be a beautiful girl, and it's not only outer beauty, either. **_

_****__**I am in no way expecting you to love me **__**back;**__** in fact, I won't be surprised at all if you scream at me and beat me up. But I know that there is so much more to you than that. Underneath your tough shell is the girl that I have fallen madly in love with.**_

_****__****__****__****__****__****__****__****__**Love always,**_

_****__****__****__****__****__****__****__****__****__****__**Arnold.**_

"Finally, I'm done." Arnold told everyone, after about an hour of writing the letter.

"Perfect. Let's see." Rhonda snatched the paper from his hands, and read through it, a smile forming on her face. "This is _awesome._ How hard was it for you to write all that nice stuff about her? I'd never be able to do that."

"Ha, well…uh…"

"You're a genius, Arnold. A pure genius. I can't wait to see the look on her face tomorrow when she thinks someone actually _loves _her." She handed the letter back to him, and smiled more. "Yeah, in her dreams."

"So, you're saying she's not capable of anyone loving her?"

"Um, yeah? That's pretty much what she said, you silly." Lila giggled.

Arnold bit down on is tongue hard, making sure he wouldn't say anything he would regret. "Well, whatever. I better get home, it's almost midnight. Great party, Rhonda."

"Thank you, doll. I'll see you in school tomorrow. It's sure to go down in history as one of the best days of the school year."

"Yeah, I'm sure." He made his way out of the house, and headed for his home. "Now, all I have to do is show Rhonda and Lila the note tomorrow, and then throw it away immediately. There's no chance she'll get it then."

Or was there?

**A/N: So, Arnold thinks he has the perfect plan, but will it turn out how he expects? Chapter 5 will tell it all. I hope the note wasn't too bad…I'm not used to writing things like that, (so, I was having as much trouble as he was in the story, hah.) but I hope it turned out okay. And I hope I didn't make anyone out of character in this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. (: Remember: if you have any tips on how to improve, please let me know. And if you have any ideas for other chapters, please tell me. Because as of right now, I might be a little stuck when I get to later chapters.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry it took a while for this chapter, I had a bit of writer's block. Which sucks. But hopefully the ideas I came up with are okay, and I hope you all enjoy it. (:**

"Arnold!" an irritating voice called from behind, "I hope oh-so badly that you remembered the note."

Sighing, he took a neatly folded piece of paper out of his pocket. "Yeah, I do."

"Well, let me see it. We wouldn't want to be fooled, and let you give her a blank piece of paper, now would we?" The brunette stated. "Hand it over."

"Rhonda, it's the note." Arnold unfolded it, revealing the love letter, and Rhonda grinned.

"Fabulous. Your best bet is to put it in her locker, before she gets here. Oh, this is going to be priceless!" She giggled, and walked away with her best friend.

"Yeah, sure it is. Now, to just find the closest trash can, and then I'm done." He crumbled up the letter, and walked in the opposite direction, trying to find a good path to discard it where no one would see him. "Ugh, all the garbage cans are in the classrooms. I guess I'll have to go to homeroom, first…"

"Hello, Arnold!" A polite voice said.

Startled, Arnold swung around, and relaxed when he saw it was only Phoebe. "Oh, hey Phoebe. I didn't see you at the party last night. Weren't you invited?"

"Yes, but I decided to hang out with Helga instead. I felt bad that she wasn't invited…err…once again."

"Uh, right. Helga…" A look of nervousness spread across his face, although he was trying to hide it as best as he could.

It obviously didn't work. "Is something the matter, Arnold? You seem to be…slightly distracted today."

"Yeah, I-I'm fine. I'm just uh…a little dazed, that's all. The party ran pretty late last night and…I went to sleep at about 2 a.m."

"Oh, very well. If you don't mind me asking, what's that in your hand? It seems to me that you're, well, hiding something, perhaps?"

"It's nothing. It's um, an old algebra assignment that I found buried in my locker. I thought I should just throw it out, you know?"

Raising an eyebrow in suspicion, the petite girl inquired, "but Arnold, you don't have algebra yet. Don't you have it next semester?"

"OH! Um, right! Did I say algebra? I meant…Biology. Yeah, that's what I meant."

"If you say so. I should get going…wouldn't want to be tardy."

"Yeah, uh me too. Seen you around, then."

"Goodbye, Arnold." Phoebe smiled, and walked away. '_Something's going on…and I'm going to find out what. Let's see. He was at Rhonda and Lila's party last night. They tend to do some…crazy things.' _She made her way towards the two best friends, and heard them giggling from a foot away. "Um, hello girls. How are you?"

"Phoebe! We gave you an ever-so special invitation to our biggest party yet, and you didn't even decline, you just didn't show up." Lila pouted, attempting to act innocent.

"Yeah, I mean, what's up with that? Rude, much?" Rhonda started to walk away, until a voice called her back.

"Wait, I wanted to ask you something. About…Arnold. He seems to be very distracted today, and I was just wondering if--"

"If we had anything to do with it? How dare you even ask us that, Phoebe!"

"I wasn't about to say that…I was just wondering if you knew what was bothering him."

The red-head giggled, but stopped as soon as she was elbowed on the side. "Look, if we tell you…you're just going to ruin it completely. I'm sorry, but you might have to just find out for yourself. You're good at that, aren't you?" Turning her back towards her, the girls walked away, giggling and whispering.

"Well, maybe I will just find out for myself…" Phoebe mumbled to herself, and made her way towards her homeroom.

* * *

"Yes! Finally, a trash can. Now, just discard it, and she won't…uh-oh." Shuffling in his pocket some more, he had a frantic look on his face. "Oh no, where is it?" 

**A/N: Haha, cliffy. (: Yeah, I hate them too. But it's fun to write them, no? Anyway, this is where I'm going to get completely stuck: chapter 6. I would appreciate it so much if any of you have any ideas to share for the next chapter. I'll love you. (: I hope you all enjoyed this…the next chapter should be up at least by Monday. Bye. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Whoa, I'm so sorry for the delay in the update. School has been a bit hectic, no lie. Teachers love homework here, ****ha-ha****. But I finally found some time, but before I start, I want to thank ****Inuyasha-loves-Kagome**** for the idea of this chapter. (: I hope you all enjoy.**

"No…no…this can't be happening. I just had it not even a minute ago…where could it have—" Arnold's words faltered when he felt a forceful tap on his shoulder, and when he turned around, he realized it was only Curly.

Wait…_only _Curly?

"Oh, hi Curly…how are—" His voice trailed off when he saw a piece of paper in his hand, same size, same fold, same everything, as the note. "Um, Curly…you do know that that note is mine, right?"

"Oh, really? Do you really think I'm that stupid? I might be a little crazy, but I'm not stupid. I was at the party last night, too, and I know exactly what this note is for. My darling wanted Helga to get this note, and she will. Do you really think I'll just let you get away with tossing it out and getting my precious Rhonda upset? I DON'T THINK SO!"

"Ugh, alright, calm down. Just give me the note, and I'll give it to her, okay?"

Curly chuckled, with a hint of maliciousness in his eyes. "There you go again, thinking I'm that stupid. Sorry, Arnold, but we all know you wouldn't give it to her."

"Fine, give it to her! But please Curly, don't tell her about the party!"

Pondering that thought for a moment, he finally spoke up again. "I won't. However, in order to make my darling Rhonda happy, you must actually pretend to love Helga."

"Oh, come on. That wasn't part of the dare…"

"No, it's part of my dare. Do we have a deal?"

Defeated, Arnold sighed. '_Pretending to love her can't be that bad, can it? I mean, what are the chances that she'll actually believe it, anyway? The odds are practically one in a million…'_ "Yeah, sure Curly."

Laughing manically, the boy ran off to Helga's locker, loving the thought of his longtime crush, Rhonda, falling head over heels with him after he added something perfect to her dare. It was bound to work out amazingly. "Oh, Helga. There's something Arnold wanted me to give you. He was a bit too shy to do it himself." He held out the note, a malicious grin forming on his face.

_'Arnold…wrote a note for me? This can't be happening…' _"Give me it." She snatched the piece of paper from his hands, and was about to open it until she realized he was still standing over her shoulder. "Get lost, you freak!"

"Heheheheh, sure thing." The boy ran off, laughing his maniacal laugh once again.

"Poor deranged little freak…" Anxious, the blonde girl unfolded the note, anticipating what she was about to read. She had to read it about 3 times for the words to finally sink in. "Arnold…really loves me? _Loves _me? This better not be a dream again…" Sighing happily, she held the note to her heart, and closed her eyes. "At last, my dreams are becoming a reality; my true love actually returns those feelings." Helga stopped, once she realized what she had to do. "I have to tell him now…I can't lose this chance. " With that final thought, she made her way to his locker, her body shaking with nervousness, but she was finally ready.

"Um, Arnold…could I talk you?"

_'Uh-oh…' _"Yeah, sure. What's up?"

"Yeah um…see, Curly stopped by my locker today…and he gave me this." She held out the note, and she noticed a slight blush appear on his cheeks. She smiled, it was so adorable. "And well…" Now it was her turn to blush, a deep shade of red, as she shuffled her feet on the round and stumbled on her words.

_'This is it…the end of my life…' _"Helga. I—"

Her voice cut him off. "I'm really happy about that…" She smiled shyly, although a bit mad at herself because of the fact that she didn't come right out and say how she felt.

In a state of shock, Arnold managed to only get two words out. "You…are?"

She nodded slowly, beaming on the inside. But little did she know that this wasn't what she thought it was.

"Helga, listen…" _'Wait, I have to actually pretend that I love her, even though I don't. There's only one thing to do…' _"Listen, if you're not busy tonight…I was wondering…um, do you want to go to dinner to…_'Great, where would she want to go…'_ "Chez Paris?"

"Y-yeah, of course I would." She smiled, and Arnold got a slightly funny feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he couldn't actually describe it.

"Great…so, how does 7 o' clock sound?"

"Sounds perfect foot—I mean, Arnold."

"Perfect…so it's a date then." _'Wow, those words were hard to get out…' _"I'll see you then." He closed his locker and smiled at her, even though he wasn't too happy about the whole situation.

"Yeah, bye Arnold." As he walked away, she let out a squeal of excitement. This was going to be perfect.

Or was it?

**A/N: So, a date later that night. Something Helga's always dreamed of, but not so much Arnold. I promise, I will have the next chapter up much faster than this, and plus, I have some ideas already, so it won't take me as long to brainstorm. (: I hope you all enjoyed this.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: (: This is one of the many great things about not having any homework, haha. So yeah, I have free time on my hands to write this chapter up. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter. **

Arnold couldn't believe what he was getting himself into. He was at Chez Paris, waiting for someone. But to him, this someone wasn't just anyone, it was Helga. He had been more than surprised when she had told him how she was happy about the note, for he had expected to be in a hospital bed at this time. However, he wasn't, and in a way, he was kind of relieved.

While looking down at his hands, which at the moment were very interesting to him, he felt the presence of someone. Looking up, he did everything he could to keep himself from letting out a gasp. It didn't work out very well. "H-Helga?" _'No __way…this can't be her__.'_

The girl in front of him, golden ringlets cascading down her back, make-up applied subtly, and at the same time beautifully, on her face, and a knee-length pink dress with white, strappy shoes, smiled shyly. "H-hi, Football…er…Arnold." She laughed nervously. "Sorry, bad habit."

_'She's apologizing for calling, or almost calling me football head? Is this honestly Helga?' _"Ha, it's fine." Arnold smiled, rose up from his seat, and pulled out her chair for her, being the gentleman that he is.

_'This has got to be a dream…' _"Thanks." She took her seat, and Arnold noticed something instantly.

"Helga…are you okay? You seem…kind of tense."

"Tense? Me? Psh, you gotta be kidding, you…" _'STOP IT!' _"…you…you're…so funny." Laughing nervously once again, she began to get worried. _'I sound like such a nutcase. If I keep acting like this, he might change his mind.'_

"Well, uh…thanks." Smiling at her, Arnold began to think that this date wouldn't turn out so bad. "So, how's sophomore year turning out for you? You haven't really been in any of my classes, except gym."

"Ha, I remember last year you had to put up with me in every single class."

_'Okay, let's get this straight. I'm supposed to be acting like I love her...think romantic. It's not that hard. I mean, come on, you did write that note.' _"Yeah, I miss feeling spitballs hit the back of my head for a full 85 minutes. In fact, I just miss seeing you all the time in general." _'Ugh, that was the lamest thing I think I've ever heard.'_

But those thoughts changed when he saw Helga's expression instantly go from tense, to a mix of shock and happiness, and…maybe even…love? "Y-you do?"

"Well, yeah…of course I do." _'That's not really a lie. My classes feel so…empty without her. Even if the spitballs did drive me crazy.' _

"Thanks…I-I miss seeing you all the time, too." _'Okay, now I'm really convinced this is a dream. I just don't want to wake up from it.' _"Hey Arnold, remember that time in history when I tried aiming a spitball at you but it ended up hitting Mrs. Clark instead?"

After remembering that moment, Arnold began bursting out into laughter, along with Helga. "Yeah, 3 days of detention. How did you even manage that?"

"Hmph, it wasn't my fault her big head was in the way. That lady blocked the chalkboard, for cryin' out loud!"

Both laughing uncontrollably, Arnold realized that this date was far from bad…he was enjoying every second of it.

* * *

Meanwhile at Rhonda's house, two furious and flustered teens paced back and forth in a big room. "How could Curly do that? He's ruining everything! She was supposed to get humiliated today, right there in school. Not tomorrow, not even tonight!" Rhonda shouted, after finding out, from Lila, what Curly had done. 

"WAIT!" Lila gasped. "Remember in fifth grade when I told you that Helga was head over heels for Arnold?"

Mouth opening wide in shock, the brunette smiled deviously. "Oh my gosh, yes! So, if she's in love with Arnold, and she thinks he feels the same, and they're at Chez Paris right now…that means…all we have to do is go there, and tell her straight up. Arnold can't, and won't change it around."

* * *

Back at Chez Paris, the two were talking about everything imaginable…except one thing, that Arnold needed to clear up right away. "So, Helga…I have to ask…you were being honest when you told me you were happy about…you know?"

"Y-yeah, I am. Arnold, I know we were never on the best terms, but…you see, ever since we met…"

"…preschool. And I shared my umbrella with you. And I remember I liked your bow." He smiled at the memory.

'_H-he remembers? I think I'm going to die…' _"Yeah, I remember it perfectly clear." She smiled back, and began getting more and more nervous, since she was reaching closer to confessing. "Ever since then…I-I…"

"You what? You can tell me."

"I'…I've been madly in love with you."

Completely in shock, Arnold was at a loss for words. _'She…she loves me? This can't be. If she finds out the truth…then…'_

"Arnold! Helga! What and ever-so pleasant surprise!" A chirpy voice came from behind him.

"Arnold and Helga?" Rhonda sneered. "Arnold, you've gone too far. This wasn't part of the dare, doll."

Arnold cringed, and Helga's eyes widened, in confusion, hurt, and absolute shock. "Dare?"

"You mean you didn't know? Oh, of course you didn't. Since you weren't at the party last night, as usual."

"A-Arnold…what is she talking about?"

_"Oh no, I knew this would all go wrong…' _"Nothing…she's…nothing."

"You liar. You know exactly that it's something. Just tell her…go on. I'll let you do the honors." Rhonda smiled.

_'I have to…they'll end up telling her if I don't. But still…she just told me that…' _Arnold sighed, and looked at Helga. "Look, Helga…at the party last night…I was…dared to write that love note to you. I wasn't going to give it to you, but..Curly managed to get it and told me that I had to…keep pretending I loved you. The truth is…I…it…it's not the truth…"

The tears in her eyes were impossible to hold back, and they instantly began streaming down her face. "You stupid football head! I-I-I wish I never laid eyes on you. I-I hate you!" With that, she threw her napkin down, and shoved her drink towards him, causing it to spill. She ran out of the restaurant, not giving anyone the pleasure of seeing her cry anymore.

"Helga! Helga wait!" '_What have I done…?'_

**A/N: So, she finally found out, and she's a wreck. But what's Arnold going to do about it? It'll be revealed very soon. (: However, I am once again in need of a few ideas regarding how he'll handle this situation, and what will happen from there. I don't need a full description…just a few brief ideas to get my mind going. I h****ope you all enjoyed this.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Okay, before I even start with this next chapter, I have to start by apologizing for not updating this story since September. It's really no excuse, but school was really hectic, and I really had no time to do anything at all. But this is one of the biggest reasons on why I love the summer – I can do pretty much whatever I want, haha. A lot of you have probably already forgotten this story, and once again, I'm sorry. My goal this summer, though, is to finish this up. And also, thanks to anyone who contributed ideas for what should happen next…I obviously can't use all of them, but I do appreciate it a ton.**

**On with the story (finally!)**

"Rhonda, how could you do this?" Arnold wasn't normally one to raise his voice, but in situations like these, he felt he had a perfectly fine reason to.

"Hey, it wasn't just me," she defended herself, gesturing to Lila, who was standing right beside her, "and besides, you had it coming to you."

"…How did I have it coming to me?"

"You tried to ruin the whole thing, Arnold." Lila began to explain, "If you had just given her the note and went on from there, none of this would've happened. But you had to go and be your ever-so sweet self and try to get rid of the note."

"When I think about it, it's actually a good thing that Curly interfered," Rhonda interrupted, "I mean, sure Helga didn't get humiliated in school like we had intended, but instead, she got humiliated and heartbroken here, all in the same night. The little wretch deserved it."

At this point, Arnold had had it. He stood up from where he was sitting, and stared Rhonda straight into her eyes. "What's your problem with Helga?"

"Other than that she's a big bully and she has a major personality issue, nothing."

"But you guys don't know her like I do. I might not know why she acts the way she does, but I do know that deep down, she's a good…great…person. And she was showing me that side of her tonight, before you two came and ruined everything."

Lila's eyes widened. "Arnold…calm down. Why do you care so much?"

Hesitating for a half a minute, Arnold shifted his eyes towards the floor, searching his brain to find the right answer. Unfortunately, he couldn't find one. "I don't know. But I have to find her." With that, Arnold walked hurriedly out of the restaurant, leaving Rhonda and Lila standing there dumbstruck by his reaction.



* * *



"Stupid Football Head," Helga mumbled to herself, kicking a random rock on the sidewalk as hard as she could, "I should've known it was all too good to be true, who was I kidding?" Her thoughts were stopped short when she heard a voice from behind her calling her name.

"Helga! Helga, wait!" Arnold was running, out of breath, trying desperately to catch up with her.

Helga scoffed, and began walking even faster. "No way, Football Head. Not after what happened tonight."

"Let me just explain--"

"NO!" She shrieked, and spun around quickly. "YOU listen. I don't want to see your stupid face or have to talk to you ever again! I wish I never laid eyes on you, Arnold. I hate you." Tears were falling heavily from her eyes now, although that's not exactly what she wanted him to see. Swinging around again, the girl ran off so quickly, that in a short amount of time, it was impossible for Arnold to spot her.

Sighing, Arnold shuffled his feet on the sidewalk, taking in everything that Helga had just said. "There has to be some way to get her to trust me again…"

**A/N: Ahh, finally chapter 8, haha. I'm planning on having the next chapter posted by tomorrow or Thursday, I promise. I already have a basic idea on what's going to happen, but as you know, I'm open to any suggestions and feedback. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.**  
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	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 8. I would've posted this chapter yesterday, but I was busy pretty much all day, and the time that I did have on the computer, it wasn't nearly enough time to finish. But I hope everyone enjoys this. **

It was midnight, and Helga still wasn't asleep. She noticed that every time she seemed to doze off, memories of that night would come rushing back to her mind. This time, however, it wasn't any thoughts that woke her up, it was the loud shrill of her phone. Groggily, the girl picked it up, yawning. "Hello?"

"Helga…i-it's me, Arnold," the person on the other line stated nervously.

This seemed to wake her up fully. Normally, she would get a goofy smile on her face, and cover up her happy feelings with her snippy attitude. But this time was different…there was nothing to cover up. "For cryin' out loud, Football Head! It's midnight, can't a girl get some sleep?"

"I'm sorry…I-I just wanted to…"

"Don't even try to apologize again for last night, Arnold. I let my guard down to you, I told you I loved you for Pete's sake! And what do you do? You tell me that the whole thing was a setup."

"Look, if you'd just let me explain—" Arnold was cut off once again.

"There's nothing to explain, Arnoldo!"

"Yes, there is! I know I might not be your favorite person right now…"

Helga scoffed. "You got that right."

Arnold continued, ignoring her comment, "but can you just hear me out?"

"If I listen to your pathetic excuse for humiliating me tonight, will you let me go to sleep?"

"Of course."

"Then go."

Arnold sighed deeply, and tried to find the right words to say. "When I was at Rhonda's party, she and Lila started a game of Truth or Dare. I wasn't really in the mood for it, but they chose me to go first. So, I picked dare. And the dare was to…well..you know, write you a fake love note. Helga, I was completely against it. You should know that about me…I'd never try to hurt someone on purpose. But I thought that if I just wrote it, and then got rid of it, you wouldn't get it. But then Curly did and…he made me pretend to really love you." He paused in case Helga wanted to say something, but there was silence. "I really had no other choice. It was either pretend to love you, or have Curly tell you the truth."

There was a bit more silence, and Arnold bit his lip, hoping for the best. Finally, he heard her voice again. "Arnold…that has to be the lamest excuse I've ever heard."



Arnold was dumbfounded. "…What?"

"You honestly thought that it would be better for me to be led on into thinking that you really loved me? You idiot, at least if Curly had told me it would've been before I told you how I felt! And didn't the thought cross your mind that your stupid little plan would go wrong, and I would eventually find out and get the note? Rhonda isn't exactly a genius, but she gets what she wants. I thought you of all people would know that." Her voice was even more bitter than it was before, which made Arnold ten times more scared.

"But I—"

"You explained, Football Head. And now, I get to go to sleep. And let's get this straight. At school, don't look at me, and most importantly, don't try to give me another pitiful excuse."

"It's not an excuse…it's what really happened—"

"See ya."

A click on the other end was heard, and Arnold fell back on his bed, absolutely frustrated. "If she won't listen to me, maybe someone else has to get involved."

**A/N: So there you go, chapter 9. I was actually happy with the way it turned out…it took me a while to plan out what was going to be said between to two of them and all that jazz. In chapter 10, Arnold is going to talk to someone else about the situation. Maybe it'll work out, and maybe it won't. I'll be gone for the 4****th**** of July weekend, so expect the next chapter up by at least Tuesday. Reviews are always good.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I hope the wait wasn't too long for everyone…I just needed a lot of time to plan out exactly what I wanted to go on in chapter 10. Enjoy. :)**

Arnold sighed deeply as he stepped out of his house. The sky was covered with clouds, and although it was only 70 degrees, the humidity certainly made up for that. He sat on the bottom of his stoop, waiting for Gerald to arrive.

However, lost in his deep thoughts, he wasn't aware when his best friend appeared right in front of him. "Hey man, sorry I'm late. I didn't hear my alarm clock--uh…Arnold?"

Arnold suddenly looked up, missing everything Gerald had just said, besides his name. "Oh, sorry…what?"

"Uh…your shirt…just thought I'd let you know that it's on backwards."

Looking down at his shirt, he sighed once again. "Ugh. I guess that's what happens when you get two hours of sleep at night." The blonde boy stood up, hurriedly fixing his shirt.

"Two hours? Man, what kept you up?"

"It was….nothing. Just one of those nights."

"Whatever you say, Arnold." Gerald suddenly remembered about the party two nights ago. "Oh yeah, I'm amazed Helga didn't beat you into pulp yet. Did you give her the letter?" There was a small smirk on his face, which triggered Arnold's annoyance.

"Yeah. She got it, all right." Arnold grumbled, swung his backpack over his shoulder, and started walking towards the bus stop. Gerald quickly ran after him.

"Hey, man…what's eatin' ya? I thought you told me you wouldn't give it to her?"

"I wasn't planning to, until Curly got his hands on it and made me pretend to really love her, because he, and I quote, wants his darling to be happy." A tone of disgust was clear in Arnold's voice as he continued, "so I had no choice but to go on a date with her."

"And that's what's bothering you so bad? Dude, you're the one that said that Helga's not that bad." Gerald rolled his eyes…he never quite understood what made his best friend think that.

"Well, I thought it would bother me. But it turned out to be pretty…nice. Until she told me she loved me."

A look of horror came across Gerald's face. "WHAT? Helga G. Pataki, loves you?" He tried to laugh it off, there was no way it could be true. "Thanks for the laugh, man. Really."



"Gerald, I'm serious. She told me that she loves me. Or…she did. Now she hates my guts. As soon as she told me, Rhonda and Lila came and…well…the rest is pretty obvious."

"So, then she beat you into pulp?"

"NO, Gerald. All she did was scream and me and tell me that she hates me. And how she wishes that she never laid eyes on me…and…ugh." Arnold stopped walking for a moment, and put his hand on his forehead. "I screwed up."

"Why don't you just talk to her?"

"I tried. Multiple times. I actually called her at midnight last night, but nothing I said went through to her."

Gerald raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Whoa, late night phone calls?"

"Shut up! You know it wasn't like that." Arnold continued walking once again.

"All right, all right, calm down. Why is this bothering you so much? It's just Helga…just let it go."

Calming down a bit, Arnold started to talk a little bit softer. "I hurt her, Gerald. I can understand completely why she hates me. Like she said, she let her guard down to me and I just….I broke her heart. Can you imagine how that would feel?"

Gerald placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I understand, man. Really. I mean, Helga's not my favorite person in the world, but she has feelings. I'm sorry….I should've supported you at the party when everyone else was trying to convince you to go through with the dare."

"It's okay. Everyone makes mistakes. Mine is just the biggest and stupidest one of all."

"This isn't your fault. You tried to find a way around it, but life isn't always fair, you know?"

Arnold nodded, and sighed. "Yeah, I know."

"Can I just ask you one question though?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Were you serious when you said that Helga loves you?" Gerald smiled, finding his comment amusing. However, Arnold found it anything but, and he noticed that by the anger and sorrowful look in his eyes. "…Sorry."

"Don't you think it shocked me too? I wasn't expecting that in a million years." Suddenly, Arnold's whole body froze as a memory came rushing back to him. "Oh God…"

"What is it?"



"…Gerald, remember in 4th grade when we saved the neighborhood…and you were wondering why Helga was with me?"

"Oh yeah…how could I forget? You never told me."

"She was Deep Voice. She was the one helping us all along. And do you know why?" Gerald looked at him, inquiry in his eyes. "She told me it was because she loved me. But then she took it back…and we both agreed that it was just the heat of the moment. But I guess…it wasn't."

Once again, Gerald was shocked. "Wow…this girl has it bad for you."

"Yep."

"Really, really bad."

"Yep."

"….And you broke her heart."

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me." Arnold stopped walking again, this time only to wait for the bus, which seemed to be late, as usual.

"I'm sorry. I just like messing with you, you know that." There was silence, and Gerald sighed. "You'll find a way to get her to trust you again. You always do."

"I tried everything. That's why, I was thinking—"

"You'd ask Phoebe?"

Arnold stopped mid-sentence, and looked at Gerald. "Well , yeah. Do you think it'd work?"

"Maybe. Who knows? Helga's complicated." He saw the bus turning the corner. "I just wish I knew why you're so determined to get Helga to stop hating you."

Before the bus pulled up, Arnold answered his question. "I just want to regain her trust, that's all." But the look on Gerald's face showed Arnold that he wasn't buying it. "Oh no, Gerald. Don't say what I think you're going to say."

"I'm not saying you like her like her or anything. Just…be careful." The two got on the bus, and took their normal seats. Phoebe was sitting right in front of them…it was now or never.

**A/N: Ahh, finally. I changed my mind about ten times during this chapter, haha. But I hope I made the right choices, and that you all enjoyed this chapter. Chapter 11 will be posted as soon as possible. **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Mkay, so I finally had enough time on my hands to think about and write this next chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

Phoebe turned around, after spotting Arnold and Gerald sitting in back of her. "Good morning, Arnold, Gerald." She smiled brightly at the both of them.

"Hey, Phoebe." Gerald winked at her, causing a light pink blush to form across her cheeks.

"Hi, Phoebe. Um…listen, can I…talk to you about something?"

"Certainly, Arnold. What is it?"

"Well…just to make sure…have you heard something from anyone about Rhonda's party?" Phoebe shook her head in confusion, which meant he had even more explaining to do. Arnold sighed, "Okay. When I was at that party…I was dared to write a fake love note to Helga. And…I thought that maybe if I wrote it and just didn't give it to her, everything would be okay. But then, Curly got it…and he made me pretend to actually love her."

Phoebe was shocked. "Arnold…!"

"I know…it was stupid of me to even go through with it in the first place. So anyway, I really had no choice then but to go out to dinner with Helga. Everything was going fine…actually, it was going pretty great. That is, until she told me that she was in love with me."

"…So, I'm assuming that's when you told her the truth?"

"Y-Yeah…well…Rhonda and Lila showed up right at that moment…and they mentioned the dare and how I should tell her. Now, she absolutely hates me and refuses to forgive me."

"Well, have you tried talking to her about it, perhaps?"

"I've tried everything. I've explained pretty much every little detail about what happened. But nothing worked. That's why…I was thinking, since you're her best friend and all—"

"Arnold, I'd be delighted to talk to her about it."

His face brightened up instantly. "Really? You'll get her to trust me again?"

"I'll try my best." Phoebe smiled again. "I'm usually quite persuasive."

"Thanks, Phoebe, you're the best." Arnold's smile faded when the bus came to a sudden stop. Normally, stopping at this bus stop wouldn't bother him. The only real fear he would ever have is that Helga would immediately start bugging him. This time, however, things were going to be different.

Arnold shifted his eyes a bit, making sure that no eye contact between the two of them was made. He didn't want to see the anger and hurt mixed in Helga's eyes…but when he looked in her direction a little too soon, he had to.



"What did I say about not looking at me, Arnold?" He was taken aback by this. On any other day, being called by his actual name instead of "Foot-Ball Head" would've been a relief to him. However, at this point, he missed it.

'_This is going to be a long day,' _Arnold thought to himself.

"So, Helga," Phoebe began as she stood next to her best friend at her locker, "there was something in particular that I wanted to talk with you about."

"What is it, Pheebs?"

"Well actually, Arnold wanted me to talk to you about it." The sudden slam of Helga's locker made Phoebe jump slightly.

"I know what you're going to say. And do you want to know my answer? I don't want to hear a word of it."

"Helga please, it'll only take but a minute."

"What else is there to be said, Phoebe? He's an idiot and I don't want anything to do with him ever again!"

"Don't you think you're being just a tad bit hard n him?"

Helga scoffed. "Hard on him? He's the one who was leading me on!"

"He did not think for a second that you would end up getting that note, nor did he believe that you would tell him your feelings."

"You're not going to give up, are you, Pheebs?"

"I'm not intending to." Phoebe smiled, hopefully this was going somewhere."

Helga sighed deeply. "What do you want me to do?"

"You should simply just talk to him, without any yelling or hurtful words. If you both just listen to each other, maybe things will work out."

"And who says I want things to work out?"

"I'm pretty sure you know that you do. You've been in love with him for years…you cannot possibly tell me that you really, truly hate him."

There was silence for what seemed to be an eternity. Finally, Helga broke it. "You're right," she started, her voice barely audible, "it's just…I thought that my dreams were finally coming true. That he would 

really love me back and everything would be perfect. And then I embarrassed myself and got my dreams crushed. I-I don't really hate him, Phoebe. I just don't know what to do anymore."

Phoebe looked up at her friend, and pulled her into a hug. "Everything will be okay, if you just talk to him calmly. Promise?"

Helga hesitated, but at last gave in. "Promise."

"Good." Phoebe let go, and smiled. "I should get to class. I'll see you at lunch."

"See ya." Helga started walking in the opposite direction, only to become face-to-face with Rhonda."

"How lovely to see you, Helga." Rhonda smiled smugly. "How've you been since the last time I saw you?"

"None of your business, Princess." She pushed past her, but suddenly felt her hand pulling her arm.

"Isn't payback a bitch?"

"Don't touch me." Helga yanked her arm away, glaring at the girl standing in front of her.

"Just think…if you weren't such a bully to everyone, maybe this wouldn't have happened." Rhonda giggled. "Or maybe it would have. Seriously, who could ever love you?"

Helga gritted her teeth. "Shut up, Rhonda…"

"I mean, come on. How stupid can you be, actually believing that Arnold loved you?"

Rhonda had hit a nerve, and at this point, Helga couldn't take it anymore. "If you say one more word to me, Princess, I'll make sure you regret it."

"I'm not scared of you, Pataki."

That was it. As if on cue, before Helga had any idea what she was about to do, she threw her fist back, and punched Rhonda directly in the jaw. "Scared now, Rhonda?"

"Ms. Pataki." A voice called from behind her. "My office. Now."

'_Ah, crap.'_

**A/N: So, Rhonda got what she should've seen coming to her. But now what happens? We'll see in chapter 12…which I'll begin writing as soon as possible. Hope you all enjoyed. (:**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: So, here we are at chapter 12. I actually have no idea how many chapters this story will end up having, but regardless, I'm hoping to finish it before school starts up again. Don't worry, though, I promise I won't rush the process of the story. If I am still working on this when summer is over, I'll make sure to work on this as much as possible over my (very short, it seems) weekends. But let's not worry about that now. On with the story. :**

"Ms. Pataki, this school does not tolerate violence of any sort. We've been through this numerous times. What will it take for you to learn?" The lady sitting in front of her wasn't quite yelling. When she was angry, she had more of a calm tone to her voice, but it was always obvious that she was furious from the look in her eyes. She wasn't the type of principal that you would look at and scream, knowing that she was going to yell at you, but when a student did something bad, regardless of how tough they might seem, or how much they might lie about it, there was always a sinking feeling in their stomach.

"I don't know," Helga stated carelessly, studying her fingernails as an excuse for not looking the principal in the eyes, "maybe teach everyone else to mind their own business and not mess with me?"

"Look at me, young lady," Helga's eyes raised up a bit, only barely meeting her gaze, "this is the third time since you've been at this school that I've had to talk to you about this. And each time, I let you go with just a few days of detention. Obviously that isn't working for you."

Helga stretched out her legs, placing them on the desk that was only a couple of inches away from her, and yawned. This was exactly what she hard every time, to the point where she started to believe that the principal was all talk. "I guess so."

"Ms. Pataki, if you're not going to show respect for other students in this school, you're definitely going to show respect for me. Take your feet off of my desk, stop looking at your nails, sit up straight, and listen."

Rolling her eyes, Helga did just that. "One question. I socked Rhonda for a reason. She was messing with me, not letting up, and she gets by with a slap on the wrist? Where's the justice here?"

"I did not see Rhonda even talking to you, therefore I cannot punish her. You, however, I can. And will."

"Woo-hoo, more detention." She twirled her finger in the air, then sighing. "You demand that everyone respects each other at this school, but you have no idea. You don't know how many people are lied to, are victims in stupid little pranks, gossiped about. Why does it seem like I'm the only one who ever gets into trouble?"

"While all of those things aren't necessarily right, you should know they're not something that people get into trouble for—"

"But it's not respect!" Helga shouted, clearly furious. "So stop asking for it, because you're never going to get it!"



"Enough!" The principal yelled, which, as everyone knew, was extremely rare. "Since detention never teaches you a lesson, you have 2 days of suspension starting tomorrow. I will be notifying your parents."

Helga scoffed, and rolled her eyes once again. "Like they would ever care."

"Get to class, and make sure you get the assignments that you're going to miss."

"Yeah, yeah." The blonde girl stood up, taking the late pass out of the principal's hand. She walked out of the office, closing the door behind her. "Notifying my parents, oh, that's such a threat."

"Suspended!" A loud voice shouted, "First it was detention three times this year, now you're suspended? It's not acceptable, Olga!"

"It's Helga, Bob."

"Yeah, whatever. This never would have happened to your sister. She was a straight-A student, never saw the principal's office unless it was to receive an award. Why can't you be more like her?"

"Sorry I can't be like Miss Mary Sunshine." Helga called from her place on the couch, with a novel in her hands.

"You should be. You're giving the Pataki's a bad name."

"Like I care."

"Well, you should! I work my ass off for you, to give you food, a good home—"

"Oh, save it! I eat freakin' cereal for dinner sometimes, Bob. I'm practically invisible in this house. Don't you ever say you work for me, because all you work for is yourself and your precious Olga." Helga snapped back at him, a mocking tone to her voice when she said her sister's name.

"Well maybe if you worked harder to be more like Olga, we wouldn't have this problem, now would we?"

"So what? Just because I'm not perfect I deserve to be treated like crap every day of my life?"

"I think you get treated pretty damn well, Olga."

"It's Helga! H-E-L-G-A!" She screamed, walking out of the house and slamming the door behind her. Any place was better than this.

**A/N: I have to admit, when I was planning this story, I didn't think I'd add in Helga getting suspended for punching Rhonda, or having a huge fight with her Dad. But I suppose extra stuff is always good. I hope everyone enjoyed this. Chapter 13 will be posted as soon as possible. :**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I actually would've updated sooner, but I've been kind of down for the last couple days. Actually I still am, but today I'm motivated so here's chapter 13. :**

It was a long walk from Helga's house to the park. A very long, tiring walk…but to her it was worth it. She could see her favorite bench from a distance, completely empty, which was a good thing to her. It became her thinking spot back in 4th grade, where she had an encounter with Arnold right after Lila broke up with him. She sat down closing her eyes, smirking only slightly at that memory…but the smirk was quickly replaced by her frown.

Helga let out a hollow chuckle, mumbling to herself, "Wow, these past couple of days have been just so wonderful." First it was the whole Arnold incident, then she had gotten suspended for something that she believed she had every right to do, and then she had a fight with her dad. Not that that was unusual to her, but nevertheless, when it all tied together, it was a bit too much for her to handle.

'_Oh no, Helga. You're not gonna start crying again…you've done enough of that already.' _But regardless of how much she tried stop the tears from spilling out of her eyes, it didn't work. _'You've become way too weak over the years. Way, way too weak.' _She placed her hands against her face, trying everything she could to stop. After all, she didn't want any bystanders to see her cry. Again.

"Helga?" She recognized the voice that was coming from beside her, and even though in the past this voice might have been reassuring to her, right now it was the last voice that she wanted to hear.

Arnold's.

Without even knowing it, Helga glanced up at him, her eyes still shiny from the tears. But she remained completely silent, quickly casting her gaze back towards the ground.

"Helga, have you been crying?" Still no response. Arnold sighed, a bit hesitant to sit down beside her. Even though Phoebe had told him that Helga was willing to talk to him, he was pretty sure that now wasn't a good time. _'Just ask her if it's okay if you sit there.' No, I'm the last person she wants to see right now. I'm better off just leaving her alone.'_

"Do you mind if I sit here, too?" _'Idiot.' _Arnold completely regretted those words as soon as they came out of his mouth. He waited for her to yell at him to get lost, or to punch him in the face just like she had done to Rhonda earlier that day. However, there was silence once again, giving Arnold the notion that she really didn't care either way. He sat down beside her, leaving only a bit of room in between them.

"I didn't say you could, Arnoldo." Great, there was the bitterness in her voice…just what he had expected.

"B-But you didn't say anything at all, so I just—"

"Assumed it was okay?" Helga scoffed, now looking at him. "You really have to stop assuming everything's okay to do, Football Head. It's been getting you into a lot of trouble lately, hasn't it?"

Arnold tilted his head slightly, a bit confused by what she meant. But it suddenly hit him…he had assumed it was okay to write that note, to get Phoebe involved, (which she didn't seem angered by just yet,) and now, to sit next to her when she clearly wasn't in the mood.

"Helga, look. I know you probably want nothing to do with me right now, but I just…thought I'd see what's wrong. Maybe I can help."

"Help? You? Boy, that's something new and exciting." She rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed. "What do you care, anyway?"

"I do care. I mean, you should know I don't like to see anyone upset." For the second time not even within a minute, he regretted what he said.

"It's a little bit too late for that, isn't it?" Helga's voice was much louder now. She wasn't raising her voice out of anger, though. In fact, Arnold couldn't even really pinpoint what it was. "These past few days have been a living hell for me, Arnold."

"Past few days? What else happened?"

Helga sighed angrily, putting her hand to her forehead. "Nothing. Nothing happened. Everything's been just so peachy keen!"

"Helga…"

"What!" Now she was mad, he could see it in her eyes. "You want to know what's been going on? You want to know why I socked Rhonda today, why I walked such a long distance here just so I could be by myself, that is, until you came along?"

Arnold simply nodded, taken aback by her sudden outburst. It wasn't everyday that she would tell him everything that's on her mind. She almost never let her guard down…besides at dinner, anyway.

And the incident on top of the FTI building, too, but he preferred to ignore that thought.

"It's because…" Helga stopped, losing eye contact with him. She didn't want to tell him, but a part of her did. "Forget it. It's none of your business, anyway."

"It's okay, Helga. Y-you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"I don't."

There was an awkward silence between the both of them, as Helga sat with her arms folded across her chest, and Arnold sat nervously, finding his knees interesting at the moment. After what seemed like an eternity, he spoke up. "It's getting really dark, and I have to study for a test tomorrow. I should probably—"

"Don't."

Arnold now looked at her, confusion evident on his face. "What?"

'I said don't. I-I don't want to be here alone…in the dark. Crazy things happen, you know." _That was a horrible safe, Helga. Absolutely horrible.'_

"Well…do you…want me to walk you home?"

Arnold saw her cringe a bit as he said that last word. "Actually, I'd rather stay here if those are my only two options."

"But don't you want to go home? I mean, you do need your sleep and—"

"This bench is comfortable. Trust me, I've slept here before." Immediately, Helga bit her tongue to make sure she didn't say anymore than that. Maybe with a little bit of hope, he wouldn't even think about what she had just said.

"You've slept here before? Helga, you just said yourself that crazy things happen! Why would you sleep here?"

'_Damn.' _"Because…it's really comfortable."

"I find it hard to believe that a hard bench could be more comfortable than a bed." He wasn't about to buy into her lies this time, like he had many other times.

"Uh, yeah well, my room is really hot. I can barely breathe in there sometimes so…uh, sleeping outside is more comfortable…temperature-wise."

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'm not." He scooted a bit closer to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Tell me the real reason why you don't want to go home."

Arnold felt her shiver a bit when he touched her, and he tried his best to hide his smile. "I-I already did."

"Those are all lies, and you know it."

"Didn't you just tell me before that I don't have to explain to you if I don't want to?"

"Well, yeah…but this is serious, Helga. Most people would want to go home…so, why don't you?"

"I'm not like most people, Arnoldo."

"I know." This time, he did smile, but he wasn't about to give up any time soon. "Helga, just tell me, please?"

Helga knew that she shouldn't look into his eyes at this point. On every other occasion that she did that, she caved in and did whatever he wanted her to do. However, she did anyway, and saw the pleading look in his emerald eyes. "Fine…if you must know…" Her voice trailed off, and she sighed once again. "I can't face my dad, Arnold."

"What do you mean? What did he do?"

"He didn't do anything except talk to me like I'm worthless, and compare me to Olga. When he found out that I got suspended, he practically exploded. I can't face him because I know that I'm not good enough."

"What are you talking about? You _are _good enough, Helga. Nobody's perfect, not even your sister."

"Oh, she's perfect, Arnold. Trust me. And you know, I should technically be used to all of this crap by now, but I'm not. Every year it seems like it just gets worse. Maybe…maybe Rhonda was right…nobody could ever love me."

Arnold was shocked, and his mind immediately went back to the party where Rhonda said something exactly like that. He felt a rush of anger flow through him, and without even realizing what he was doing, he took one of Helga's hands into his own. "Since when do you care what Rhonda says?"

"I don't. That's not the point." She looked down, seeing that their hands were together. Thank goodness it was dark, because she knew for a fact that she was blushing madly. "The point is, she's right."

"No, Helga…she's not." He gave her hand a slight squeeze, all the while wondering why he was doing so. "Just because some people don't appreciate you for who you are—"

"Some people? No one does, Arnoldo…get your football-shaped out of the clouds for a minuite."

"So I guess I'm a no one then, huh?"

Helga's head snapped up quickly, shocked by his remark. As much as she wanted to believe the meaning behind what he ha just said, she found it hard to. "Please, Arnold. If you really 'appreciated me,' you wouldn't have even thought about doing what you did, and you know it."

"Forget about the note for a minute. Forget about what happened at Chez Paris. Focus on what I'm saying to you right now, Helga. I do care about you, and so do a lot of other people, whether you realize it or not."

Yet again, there was another awkward silence, but this time it didn't last nearly as long. "You really mean that, Arnold?"

Arnold as surprised by the sudden change in her tone, but he didn't let that preoccupy his mind right then. "Yeah, Helga. I do mean it."

Neither of them knew what was going to happen next. The conversation that went on between them was surprising enough, since Helga didn't believe that she would spill her thoughts, and Arnold certainly didn't believe that he would be able to get that much out of her.

"Helga, I know you probably still hate me, but—"

"I never hated you."

"You didn't?"

"Well, I thought I did. But deep down I knew that I could never hate you, regardless of how much I may have gotten hurt."

Although Arnold was relieved, he couldn't help but apologize to her for the billionth time. "Helga, I'm really sorry…"

"I know, Arnold, I know."

Lost in the conversation, they both didn't realize that it was almost past 9:00, that they did in fact have school in the morning.

Or, that they were leaning closer and closer together, until their lips finally met. It wasn't a long kiss, it really only lasted less than a minute, but it was enough for Helga's stomach to do back flips, and enough for Arnold's mind to start racing.

As the two separated, Arnold drew his attention back to his knees again. "I-I really need to get home."

"W-what?"

"I'll see you at school tomorrow. Or uh..well..when you come back. Yeah. Bye." He got up really quick, and turned his fast-paced walk into a swift run. He felt like a coward, but he didn't know what else to do."

'_Why did I kiss her? Why did I let it last so long? Why couldn't I face her anymore when it was over?' _Arnold stopped dead in his tracks, and sighed. "Wow, this has been one heck of a night…"

Back in the park, Helga was still sitting on the bench, dumfounded. '_He kissed me. Arnold kissed me. And then he ran away? Like he was ashamed of it or something?'_She started feeling the same emotions that she felt back at Chez Paris: embarrassment, confusion, sadness, and most of all, anger. "I should've known he would pull a stupid stunt on me again…I should've known. God, I'm so stupid."

She felt a drop of rain land on her head, and then gradually, the rain started pouring down on her. '_Damn. I can't stay here now. I wonder if Phoebe's still up.'_

Making her way out of the park, she found herself being blocked by someone.

"Hello. Helga."

**A/N: Ah, I love cliffhangers…only when I'm writing them, though, haha. This chapter turned out to be longer than expected, which is good. I think. Hopefully. I hope I didn't drag it out too much for you guys. Anyway, chapter 14 will be posted soon. And feel free to make guesses about who this person at the end of the chapter is. I hope you all enjoyed this. :**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: To start, I just want to thank everyone who said that they hope I feel better, haha. I'm actually doing a lot better now. But most importantly, to everyone who's been putting this story in their favorites and reviewing it, thanks a bunch. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

"Phoebe! You scared the crap out of me!" Helga shouted, her hand placed over her chest.

"I'm very sorry. I tried calling you at your house but your dad told me you went out. And well, I think I know you enough to know what that means."

Helga smiled slightly. It was as if Phoebe had a sixth sense…she always seemed to know when Helga had a huge blowup with one of her parents, and each time, she was there for her. "Thanks, Pheebs. I was just leaving now to see if you were home. Is it okay if—"

"You know you don't have to ask, Helga. You're always welcome to stay at my house." Phoebe smiled warmly, pulling her best friend into a hug. "If you don't mind me asking, though, why are you leaving so late? The only times that you stayed later were the times when you…well, slept here."

"I-I kinda met up with Arnold." Helga knew that she would have to talk about everything that just happened moments ago, but she didn't exactly want to replay it in her mind.

"Oh, really? Are you two okay now?"

"Well…I thought we were…" Her voice trailed off as she started to feel the tears forming in her eyes, walking alongside of Phoebe.

"What do you mean, you thought?" Phoebe inquired, confusion evident in her voice.

Helga sighed deeply. "Everything was solved. I finally forgave him…heck, I even told him about the fight I had with Bob. And then, before I knew it, we were kissing."

"You and Arnold kissed? Helga, that's great!" She stopped once she saw the down look on her friend's face. "I'm guessing he ran away from you right after?"

"Yup. He made up the, 'I really have to go, I'll see you later' excuse, and took off. Please Phoebe, he's probably disgusted right now. Watch the next time I see him he's going to pretend that nothing even happened."

"Perhaps he was just a bit shocked. It was quite a sudden move, maybe he just needs some time to think about what happened. I'm sure everything will be fine."

"I hope you're right, Pheebs. I can't handle rejection again."

"Let's just hope for the best. For all you know he could be very happy right now.



* * *



"Gerald, I am so confused and frustrated right now!" Arnold groaned, falling back onto his bed with the phone in his hands.

There was silence for quite some time, until Gerald finally spoke up. "Y-You kissed Helga…"

"YES, Gerald. I kissed Helga. That's the fifth time you've said that in the last two minutes."

"I'm sorry man it's just..." he sighed, "what were you thinking?"

"I don't know! We were in such a deep conversation and it just…happened."

"You're gonna have to face her sooner or later, Arnold."

"I choose later. Much later."

"At least she got suspended. Now you have at least a little bit more time to think about it. But seriously, that was so bold of you. You finally thought that you regained her trust, and then you just…ruined it."

Arnold groaned once again, placing his hand on his forehead. "There has to be someway I can get around this."

"I knew this was going to happen…"

"…You knew what was going to happen?"

"Dude, face it. You might now realize it now…but you're falling for Helga."

Arnold sat up straight, feeling a wave of dizziness. "Gerald…y-you've got to be kidding me. I-I mean, I just kissed her—"

"Just kissed her? There's a reason why you kissed her, Arnold."

"Ugh, I know but…I'm not falling for her, okay? Maybe it was just the heat of the moment, like what she told me that time on top of the FTI building."

"Yeah right. It was a lie then, and it's a lie now."

"Gerald, shut up. I do not like her like that, okay? I'm gonna go, I'm really tired."

"Alright, fine. But I just have one more question."

"What?"

"Did you enjoy the kiss?"

Arnold paused for the longest time, his mind racing. He shook his head, and sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gerald."

"Ha! See? You can't even answer my—" Arnold hung up, and fell back onto his bad again, staring up at his ceiling. '_I guess I did enjoy it…even though I have no idea why I kissed her in the first place. I shouldn't have run away from her, though…that probably just screwed things up even more. She's probably just as confused as I am…' _His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a soft knock on his door. "Come in."

His door opened slowly, and his Grandpa walked in. "Hey Shortman, what are you doing still up at this time?"

"I was just…thinking, Grandpa."

"You need some advice?"

"I…yeah, I do. See, there's this girl…."

"Lila? Ruth? Any other girl that you were crazy about?"

Arnold blushed a bit, and shook his head. "No, Grandpa. It's Helga…"

"Holy moly! You have a crush on her now? The girl with the pink bow and pink dress who never leaves you alone?"

"NO! I don't. It's something else. You see, I was dared to write her this fake love note at a party, and she got it…so I had to pretend to actually love her. But she found out when we were on our date the other night…"

"Well, that stinks."

"…and it took me all this time to regain her trust. I met up with her at the park tonight and we talked a lot. We finally got everything solved, she was telling me about her personal life…and then…"

"You kissed her?"

Arnold stopped, looking at him. "Y-yeah. And to make matters worse, I—"

"You ran away from her?"

"…Yeah. I screwed up again. What should I do?"

"Well, Arnold…you have to explain to her that you didn't mean anything by it. That is, unless you do." He laughed wholeheartedly, and then cleared his throat once he saw the serious look on Arnold's face. "There's a reason why you kissed her, and before you even think about talking to her, you have to figure out what that reason is. Because if you lie to her again, she'll probably never, ever, ever, ever, ever…"

"Grandpa, I think I get it. She'll never trust me again for as long as she lives."

"You've got that right. Now get some sleep, Shortman. You have school in the morning."

"Okay, goodnight Grandpa. And thanks."

"Anytime, Arnold. Anytime." He closed the door behind him, leaving Arnold by himself once again.

'_Maybe the reason why I kissed her was because the moment just felt right. Or maybe I felt bad for her…no…it wasn't that. Maybe it was because…'_

Arnold's thoughts stopped short as he yawned, and fell into a deep sleep for the rest of the night.

**A/N: So, we still don't know what the reason was. I still have a lot of ideas for the upcoming chapters. Gosh, I don't even know when this story is going to end. But oh well. Feel free to make any predictions and comments about this chapter, or the next chapter. I'll have it posted by next week, no doubt. See ya.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Ahh, I'm so sorry it's been a while since I last updated. My computer was being wacky, and liked deleting my documents. But it's all okay now (hopefully.) So I'm really sorry, I won't abandon this story like I did around this time last year, haha. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

'_This is ridiculous,' _Arnold thought while pretending to be paying attention in his last class of the day. _'I don't think what happened between me and Helga last night has left my mind once today. And I still have no idea why I kissed her in the first place! This is crazy…all I know is that I need way more time to think about it.'_

"Arnold," a tiny voice interrupted his thoughts, "do you mind if I ask you for a big favor?"

"Oh, um…sure Phoebe. What is it?"

"Helga's English teacher informed me that she left her book behind yesterday. However, I'm afraid that right after school I have to go directly the National Honors Society meeting…would you mind bringing this to her?"

'_Crap…this wasn't supposed to happen…' _"Phoebe…I—I don't know if I can face her right now."

"Oh, that's right…Helga told me about what happened . Well, it's better to confront her now than later. That would just make things even more awkward."

"But…" The bell rang, cutting off Arnold's protest.

"Thanks so much, Arnold. I'm very sorry if this was an inconvenience."

Arnold sighed, placing his hand on his forehead. "It's no problem, Phoebe."

Phoebe smiled brightly, beginning to walk out of the classroom. "Goodbye, Arnold…I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

'_Great…just great. I couldn't say no to Phoebe…who else would have brought Helga's book over for her? But now…ugh…what am I gonna say to her? I can't make her mad at me. Again.' _Arnold stopped dead in his tracks when he reached Helga's house. '_I guess it's now or never…' _He began walking up to the door, his hand practically shaking. '_Just ring the doorbell…it's not that hard.'_

Even though it only took about twenty seconds for the door to open, it seemed like an eternity, "A-Arnold…what are you doing here?"

"I—Phoebe—here." Arnold held the book for Helga to grab, mentally cursing himself for sounding so nervous.

"Oh, my English book." She took it from his hands, and then glared at him slightly. "I left it behind for a reason. I already have a gazillion assignments I have to do."

"Oh…I'm sorry. It's just…Phoebe asked me to bring it to you because she had an Honors Society meeting."

There was an awkward silence between the two, but they both had gotten used to having that happen. "Arnold…the announcements said yesterday that the meetings don't start until next week…"

"…You're kidding." Helga simply shook her head, looking confused, although she had a pretty good idea on why Phoebe did this in the first place. "W-Why did she tell me she was busy, then?"

"I think I know why…" Her voice trailed off, and her eyes shifted towards the ground."

'_Arnold, you idiot. Say something to her. You can't run away from her again.' _"Helga…last night…"

"…you ran away from me like a coward."

This took Arnold by surprise, and his head immediately snapped up. "Helga…you don't understand…I didn't know what else to do!"

"I know, Arnold. I know."

"I-I still don't know why or how it happened. It just…did."

"Thank you, captain obvious."

"I mean, I thought about it…you…all night. And all day during school…the walk here. It's been driving me crazy, Helga! You're the only thing that's been on my mind since it happened!"

"Hey, don't yell at me, Football Head! Nobody told you that you had to kiss me!"

Arnold sighed, rubbing his hand up and down his arm. "I'm sorry…you just don't know how confusing it's been for me."

"And you don't think it's been confusing for me, too? You don't think I've been wondering why you kissed me, or what would happen when we had to see each other?"

"I know…" His voice trailed off, and he seemed to be in deep thought. "But Helga…I think I've realized what the reason behind it was…"

'_Oh my gosh…can it be…no…I don't have that kind of luck.'_ "What is it, Arnold?"

"I-I…I think…"

'_What if he's going to tell me that he loves me, though? Should I believe it this time?' _

"I think…that it was just the heat of the moment."

And once again, there was silence. "Slick, Arnold. Use my words against me."

"Helga…"

"No, no it's okay."

"…Really?"

"Yeah, really." Helga let out a hollow chuckle, trying to make light of the matter. "Let's just forget this ever happened, okay?"

"Right, of course." Arnold smiled slightly, a bit more at ease now knowing that things were going to be okay between them. Still a bit awkward, but okay. "See ya."

"Mhm." She closed the door quickly enough so that Arnold couldn't see the tears fighting their way out of her eyes.

**A/N: Haha, no way was I going to end the story here. Although I bet a lot of you knew that was coming…but I'll just hope that I made at least some of you believed that he was actually going to say that he was in love with her. So anyway, I'm still not sure at all how many more chapters I'm going to end up writing for this. Any ideas, feedback, or predictions would be great. I hope you all enjoyed this. (:**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I normally wouldn't be happy that I'm sick, but if it gives me time to work on this story, then yes, that makes me happy, haha. I'm extremely sorry for the delay in updates, but the only time I really have to work on this is when I don't have homework or no after school activities, which rarely happens anymore. And especially when play rehearsals start, gah. Oh well, I hope you all enjoy chapter 16.**

"Heat of the moment! What the heck were ya thinking, Shortman?" Phil shouted incredulously at Arnold after being told about what happened that afternoon.

"Well, it kind of was…"

"But ya shouldn't tell her that!"

"Then what was I supposed to tell her? Despite what everyone else seems to think for whatever reason, I'm _not _in love with her."

Grandpa sighed, and took a seat next to Arnold on his bed. "Maybe you should…I don't know…give her a chance?"

The young boy looked up at him, curiosity evident in his eyes. "Where are you going with this?"

"I've been where you are, Shortman: confused, miserable, always thinking about her…"

"Grandpa…"

"Yup, I've been through it. When I was your age, there was a girl just like your little friend who I kissed. Of course, I had absolutely no idea why. So what do you think I did? I thought about it for a while and said, ya know what? Maybe if I give her a chance, I'd discover something that I never would've even thought about before."

"…So then what happened?"

"Well, I became very good friends with her after I asked her if she wanted to…oh, what do you kids call it these days…chill with me sometimes."

"Just friends though, right?"

"Well, actually…" Phil chuckled, and sighed thoughtfully. "I ended up marrying her!"

"Grandpa!"

"Jeez Louise, what! You asked me!"

"I know what you're trying to say. You're saying that I should invite Helga to hang out with me somewhere, get to fully know her more, and then I'm just gonna…fall for her?"

"Yuppers!"

"That's crazy talk. I wouldn't fall in love with her. I mean…yeah, she's a great person, even though she doesn't show it to everyone. And she's really smart, and a great writer…and…."

"See that, Arnold? I think ya got a little somethin' somethin' going on with her right now."

"GRANDPA!"

"Okay, okay I'll stop. But do me and you both a favor and think about it, alright?"

"Fine…I-I'll think about it."

"There's the spirit! Now, I have to go. I stayed in here too long the way it is."

"…Wait, why are you in such a rush?"

"Well…let's just say Pookie gave me some raspberries before, and…"

"Alright, alright…I get it." Arnold interrupted him with a chuckle. "Oh, and thanks, Grandpa."

"No problem." Phil smiled while closing Arnold's door, only fast footsteps being heard.

'_Okay, all I have to do is call Helga and…I don't know…ask her if she wants to go get some ice cream with me or something. How hard could that be? Unless I upset her with what I said before. Well, she didn't seem to mind.' _Taking a deep breath, Arnold picked up his phone, and dialed Helga's number. Unlike last time, he didn't have the nervous butterfly feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Alright fine, he did.

After about only two rings, he heard a voice on the other end of the line. "Hello?"

"Helga! Hey, it's Arnold."

"Arnold? Boy, you sure have been calling me a lot lately…"

"Oh uh, yeah. Sorry, did I…interrupt something"

'_Only me crying,' _Helga thought to herself, but decided not to say that out loud. "Nope, not a thing."

"Okay, good. Listen…I just wanted to see if maybe you wanted to go to Slausen's with me later tonight?"

'_Just remember…Chez Paris.' _"Arnold…are you sure about this?"

Arnold was taken aback by the sudden change of tone in Helga's voice. "Y-yeah…why not?"

"Well, last time you asked me to go somewhere with you…well, I don't really have to explain that, do I?"

"Just as friends, this time. No Rhonda or Lila…well…hopefully."

There was a bit of silence for a long time; something the two of them were used to by now. "Okay, fine then. What time?"

"Whatever time is good for you."

"Good, seven, 'cause _Wrestlemania _is on at eight." _'Actually I'd rather be with you than watch wrestling…I'm just not about to say that.'_

"Okay, seven it is. I'll see you then. Bye, Helga."

"See ya." She hung up the phone, and then just sat on the edge of her bed taking in all of what just happened. "Nothing will screw this up tonight. Nothing out of the ordinary will happen. Everything will be just fine."

Well, she _hoped _nothing out of the ordinary would happen.

**A/N: Just in case everyone is wondering, no, their little get together at Slausen's won't be a repeat of what happened at Chez Paris. I do have an idea up my sleeve for the next chapter, though, which I'll try to get typed up and posted next weekend. From the way my ideas are looking, expect about 2 or maybe 3 more chapters before this story is finally completed. Feedback and suggestions are always appreciated, as well. I hope everyone enjoyed this. :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: No, I didn't abandon the story like I did last year. Not only was my schedule really hectic, but I also had a hard time deciding what I wanted to do with this. I had a few ways that I could've went, but I finally decided, and I hope it's the right choice, haha. One good thing about not making the spring play is that I'll actually have time to work on this. With the fall play, I practically had no life. Oh well. After this chapter, there's just two more chapters to go. Enjoy!**

Arnold sat at a table for two at Slausen's, fidgeting with his fingers as he waited for Helga to arrive. He glanced at his watch anxiously, and noticed that it read 6:59. _'Calm down, you just got here a little bit early. She'll be here any minute.'_

As if on cue, the door swung open and Helga entered. Suddenly feeling more nervous, Arnold sat perfectly upright in his seat and made a hand signal for Helga to come over.

"Jeez, Arnoldo, how long were you waiting here for?" The blonde girl asked while sitting down.

"Uh...not long. I was just...well, I guess I didn't realize that I left my house a little early---"

"That excited to see me, huh football head?" The light blush that appeared on Arnold's face instantly made Helga laugh wholeheartedly. "I'm kidding, relax."

"Oh, uh, I knew that." '_Smooth, Arnold, real smooth.' _"So, you're coming back to school tomorrow?"

"Nope, I still have one more day. Can you believe it? All I did was sock Rhonda, and I had a good enough reason to do so. I swear, it's like that creep principal has it in for me."

Arnold knew that the reason why Helga hit Rhonda was because of what she said. The "who could ever love you" question that made him angry to even think about. "Yeah, well...you know she doesn't accept violence..."

"Oh sure, Arnoldo. Go and defend Princess now."

"N-no, I'm not defending her! I mean, she should've gotten some kind of punishment too..."

She scoffed, "thank you, captain obvious."

"...I just wish you hadn't gotten suspended."

Looking up into his eyes in bewilderment, Helga tried her best not to sound too happy about that statement. "W-why?"

"Because...the only time I ever see you in school anymore is in gym class. I know I've told you this, but...I miss having you in all of my classes like you were last year."

'_Keep it together, Helga. Don't cave in just yet.' _"You miss having spitballs thrown at you?"

Arnold laughed, remembering how annoyed he used to get everytime he felt paper rip from behind him. "Not that in particular. But...you know, working on projects together--"

"Please, you never wanted to work with me on anything. Everytime it was like we were forced to work together."

He nodded, "I know, but even though we never got along during, well, any of those projects...we did always get the best grade. We're a good team, wouldn't you say so?" Arnold inquired, while smiling the whole time.

_'That smile is worth dying for...' _"I-I...oh, stop being so corny, football head!" The disappearance of the smile on Arnold's face made Helga immediately regret her choice of words. "I-uh...sorry..."

"No, it's okay." His smile reappeared again after he saw her expression soften. _'She's really pretty...why haven't I ever realized that before?'_

Their conversation was interrupted when a women, maybe in her late 20s, stood by their table. "You guys ready?"

"Oh, uh, yeah...I'll just have a chocolate milkshake." Arnold replied.

"Same as him, oh, and with a bendy straw. And make it snappy, too."

"I-I'll get it here as fast as I can, ma'am." With that, the women took their menus and scurried off.

Arnold couldn't help but laugh. "You sure do have a choice with words, Helga."

"I know, I know. That's what makes me special." Helga said smugly, a smirk appearing on her face.

_'There's a lot of things that make her special...agh, stop it!' _"Hey um, I was wondering...do you maybe want to...uh, I don't know, go for a walk or something after this?" Arnold really hoped that she would say yes, because what he needed was to spend as much time with her as possible.

_'YESS!' _"S-sure, Arnold...I'd love--I mean..." She had to think of a snappy comeback, and fast. "didn't I tell you Wrestlemania was on at eight?"

"W-well, yeah...but..."

Helga cut him off once again, "whatever floats your boat, football head."

His face immediately lit up, but he didn't exactly know why. "You will?"

"Yeah, whatever. I guess it's the least I can do for you since you miss me so much." Once again, that same blush came across Arnold's face, and Helga's heart fluttered. "Crimeny, Arnoldo! I'm kidding!"

"Oh, uh, right." He chuckled, and suddenly realized that he couldn't keep his feet still. He was jittery, and he couldn't do anything to control it. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to.

* * *

"So, are you going to be afraid of seeing Rhonda once you come back to school?" Arnold inquired, kicking a tiny pebble on the sidewalk.

Helga chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Arnold, Arnold, Arnold. Do you not know me at all? I'm a Pataki, and Pataki's are not afraid of anything."

"Last time I checked, you were petrified of rats."

She cringed, and playfully, (but roughly) hit Arnold on the shoulder. "Shut up, Football Head! Rats are disgusting! Who _doesn't _hate them?"

"I know they are," he laughed, rubbing the spot where she had just hit him, "but still, there's something you're afraid of."

"I'm not _afraid_, Arnoldo. I'm just disgusted by them, that's all."

"So, being disgusted by something causes you to squeal and panic?" He had that flirtatious grin on his face, the grin that Helga wanted to despise, but couldn't.

"You better quit while you're ahead, Football Head! Besides, that was fourth grade. I've...matured."

Arnold laughed once again, shaking his head slightly. "Please, I bet if we saw a rat right now you'd be scared out of your mind."

"I told you, Arnoldo. I'd be _disgusted _out of my mind."

"Nuh-uh." Arnold teased her playfully, poking her on her side.

Helga squealed out loud from both surprise and from being extremely ticklish. But despite that, she found herself giggling uncontrollably, and poking him back in the same playful manner. "Don't you ever poke me like that again, you dork!"

Arnold jumped back a bit, laughing uncontrollably, as well. "Based on your laughing, you don't seem to mind."

"Yeah, well...I do mind."

"Well then, that's too bad." He smirked deviously, this time tickling her slightly on her side and running away like a little kid. But to Helga, it was one of the most adorable things she had ever seen him do.

"Get back here, you Football-headed dweeb!" She shouted after him, still laughing, as she began to try to catch up with him. But much to her dismay, she found herself tripping over a high crack in the sidewalk and falling directly onto the ground by the edge of the grass.

Arnold turned around quickly, and without hesitation ran back to her as quick as possible. "Helga, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. Never better. Now just help me up," she demanded while holding out her hand.

Without even considering what might happen next, he reached out to her so she could grab onto his hold. But as soon as he saw the devious glare in her eyes, he knew he had made a mistake. "Helga, don--ahh!" Arnold's words were quickly cut off as Helga pulled him down to the ground with her and playfully pinned him down to the grass.

"That's what you get for even thinking about tickling me like that, Arnoldo!" She smirked as she began to tickle him just as he did to her.

"Helga, stop!" Arnold laughed hysterically as he began to tickle her in return, causing her to stop for only a split second. And that's all they did for the next minute or so: have a continuous tickle fight until either of them could barely breathe.

Their uncontrollable fits of laughter slowly started to turn into simple giggles as the two blondes unknowingly laid in the grass in each other's arms. Helga was actually the first to notice this, but she did not dare to change it.

Arnold chuckled, looking into her sapphire eyes. "Wow, _that _was fun."

"Yeah..." Helga's voice trailed off, feeling the butterflies forming in the pit of her stomach.

Soon enough, Arnold noticed that they were both in each other's grasp. But for some reason, he found himself not wanting to move from his position. He liked the feeling of Helga's hands on his body, and he liked the fact that their faces were only inches away from each other. He remembered being in that scenario before, and at that time, he was startled by it. But at this point, he was enjoying it, and he wasn't quite sure why.

"Hey, Helga. I guess you didn't care much about watching _Wrestlemania."_ Arnold teased once more, knowing that his statement would cause her to become flustered.

"Oh...yeah, that. I-It was a repeat, anyway..."

"I somehow doubt that."

"Oh really? Why is that, Arnoldo?"

"I just know you, that's all." He smiled, inching a bit closer to her, causing Helga to instantly tense up.

"Arnold..."

He interrupted, "you know how I said that the kiss at the park the other night was just the heat of the moment?" Helga didn't respond, she simply nodded. "Well, I wanted to take that back."

He wasn't sure why he said that, but he knew what was about to happen next, and he knew that's what he wanted. No, he wasn't too sure about why he wanted it to happen, either...he just did. He searched Helga's eyes for any signs of approval or disapproval, and he quickly found himself getting lost in them. Arnold had found nothing but timidity, anxiousness, hopefulness, and most of all, love. At this, he wasted no time slowly placing his lips on hers once more, savoring the taste and feeling the warmth.

And this time, he didn't want it to end.

**A/N: Ahh, I know I absolutely suck at kissing scenes, I'm sorry! But as soon as I got the image of the tickle fight in my mind, I knew exactly where I wanted to go with it. And this isn't the end, even though for some it may seem like it. I'm not exactly sure yet whether I want to write one more ling chapter, or make two shorter ones. I guess I just have to decide **_**exactly **_**how I want to end this story. But I'm definitely excited for it. I'll definitely have the next chapter posted as soon as possible, (I'm thinking by the end of this week, if not earlier.) since I have absolutely nothing to do on break, haha. So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Make sure to review and leave any feedback you may have. Thanks!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Woo, chapter 18. As I said, I'm really sad that soon this story will be ending, but hopefully once it's over I'll still have time to write some more. But until then, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. **

By this point, the sky was pitch dark, and the only sources of light that were surrounding the two were the streetlights and the stars. Regardless, the night was by far the best time Helga had ever experienced, though she was left pondering whether or not she should even bring up the question she was thinking about since Arnold kissed her. Actually, she had a lot of questions, but her main one was the most important to her. _'I just don't want him to avoid the question again…'_ she thought to herself, _'but why did he take it back?' _The whole moment was too much for her to handle: the kiss, lying under the stars with him…but she wasn't just lying _next _to him. He was holding her firmly, but not unbearably tight, against him, as if he was afraid of letting her go.

Unknowingly, Helga let out a small sigh, causing Arnold to pull away from her just a little bit to look at her. "You okay, Helga?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine…"

He studied her eyes, which seemed to be refusing to make any contact with his, and he had found the same mix of emotions in them as he had seen before. "Helga…if you need to say or ask me something, don't be afraid to."

She sighed once again, biting down on her lower lip lightly out of nervousness. "It's just…I don't understand why…" Her voice trailed off, and Arnold waited patiently for her to continue, "why did you take back what you said before?"

'_I should have known that was coming…' _"What do you mean?"

"You know…the whole heat of the moment thing. You said you wanted to take it back…"

Arnold continued looking at her, becoming lost in his own thoughts. All of the memories he had of her from pre-school until this very moment came rushing back to him as if on cue. He remembered telling her how he liked her bow while holding his umbrella over her head, the school play where she had kissed him for the first time, the _Babewatch _kiss, the whole scenario on top of the FTI building, the confession at Chez Paris, the kiss at the park, and of course, all of the time he had spent with her tonight. He couldn't help but remember all of the times he saw her smile, laugh, cry… '_Oh no…I couldn't be…'_

"Arnold?" Helga's voice cut through, immediately bringing Arnold out of his trance. He hadn't realized that he had taken such a long time to say even one word.

"Helga…I…" His voice trailed off as they finally made eye contact, causing his heart to skip a beat and his face to flush. He gazed into her sapphire eyes, gaining very little composure. "I…I think I…"

His voice was cut off by the sudden sound of vibration, and he groaned out loud quietly when he realized it was his phone. He contemplated ignoring it, but when he saw that it was his Grandpa he didn't want to take the risk of getting into trouble, or worse, something bad going on back at the Boardinghouse. He sighed, pressing the accept button. "Hello? Yeah I'm fine. …It is? Oh…okay…y-yeah, I'll be home soon. I know it is…okay, bye." Arnold hung up, and looked at Helga sympathetically. "Um…my Grandparents want me home…it's almost nine-thirty…"

"Oh…" '_Curse having school in the morning. Crimeny, can't tomorrow be Saturday?' _"O-okay…"

"I'm really sorry. Um…come on, I'll walk you home." He stood up from the grass, extending his hand out to Helga who quickly accepted it. _'A far walk would be perfect. Ugh, it's only about a minute though…' _The two blondes began walking in the direction of Helga's home, not letting go of each other's hands even for a second.

They walked up Helga's front steps together, and Arnold let out a sigh. "I'm sorry…that was um…really bad timing."

"It's okay…"

'_No, it's not,' _he felt like saying, but he kept it to himself. "Helga, listen…I-if you want, we can meet up at the park tomorrow at around five…to you know…finish what we were talking about…"

A blush came across Helga's cheeks, and she found herself being grateful that it was so dark outside. "S-sure, Arnold."

"Great." Arnold smiled, and leaned forward, placing a light kiss on Helga's cheek. "Goodnight, Helga."

Now blushing furiously and trying her best to keep herself steady, Helga smiled back. "'Night, Football Head…er…Arnold." She turned the doorknob, allowing herself to enter her house, and turned her heard around to see Arnold still standing there, smiling and watching her. Smiling once more, she walked in and closed the door behind her, only to sigh happily and collapse onto the carpet.

Bob looked down at his daughter, eyebrows raised, completely oblivious to what had just gone on. "I'm not even gonna ask…"

* * *

"Man, oh man, Arnold…when are you gonna just admit it!" Gerald exclaimed to his next friend the following day while walking down the hallway at school.

"Admit what?"

"Your feelings for Helga, man! I mean seriously, if your phone didn't go off last night, what would you have told her?"

"I…I don't know. I was just lying there looking at her…thinking about how pretty she is….and smart, and funny, and sweet…and all those great memories we've had together…"

"Arnold, do you have a spoon?"

"…No, why?"

"'Cause you saying all this lovey-dovey things about Helga is making me wanna gag!"

"Gerald, that's not funny. Helga's a great person."

"Of course she is, Arnold. So, did you think about her anymore when you got home last night?"

"I thought about her _all _night! It was like she was permanently stuck in my brain or something."

There was a little bit of silence until Gerald finally broke it. "So…what will you tell her at the park today?"

"…I have pretty much all day to think about exactly how I feel once more. But Gerald…I think you were right. I…I think I might be falling for Helga."

Placing a hand on Arnold's shoulder, Gerald sighed. "That's your prerogative, my brother." He chuckled lightly and added, "but was I right or what?"

"I-I, I think you were…but…let me just think some more, okay? My head was spinning last night."

"No problem. But, if you don't mind me asking, how was the kiss?"

A smirk came across Arnold's lips as he started to remember exactly how the kiss went that previous night. "Incredible."

"…Okay, now I really need a spoon. I better get to class. See ya, man."

"See ya." Arnold waved, and headed in the opposite direction, only to become face to face with the last two people he wanted to see at that moment (or ever.)

"Why Arnold, how lovely it is to see you. I think you have ever-so much explaining to do."

'_Oh, boy.'_

**A/N: So, the ever-so definitely gave away who the two people are, haha. But Arnold's now finally beginning to realize his true feelings for Helga. Took him long enough. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, and remember there's only one more left to go. I plan on having it posted sometime before the end of next week, before I really have to start working on my 10 poems that I have to write for my history class. Joy. Please leave any comments you may have, I value all of them. **


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Wooo, finally I got some free time on my hands. Actually I really didn't, but I decided to procrastinate on my 3 projects for now just so I can finish up this story. I cannot believe I've been writing this since two summers ago, haha. That's pretty crazy. For all of the readers who have been reading and reviewing from the start, and even those who just started reading two chapters ago, this last chapter is dedicated to all of you. Enjoy!**

"Rhonda and Lila…" Arnold mumbled under his breath, feeling a mix of emotions build up inside him. He wasn't sure whether he should run and hide just to avoid them, or if he should just stay and face what ever trouble he was about to get into. "What do you want?"

"It's all around school, kid." Rhonda began, "you know, you and Pataki."

"Me and Helga? Yeah, we're friends."

"Don't try and play dumb with us, Arnold. Everyone knows. Everyone has heard. Curly told us he saw you two walking together, holding hands."

"I would normally say that it was oh-so cute, but seriously, Arnold. Helga Pataki?" Lila shouted incredulously, a clear look of disgust on her face.

Rhonda sighed, stepping closer to the boy who was now almost sweating from nervousness. "I didn't want to believe it, doll. In fact, I didn't believe it until I heard that little conversation you had going on there with Gerald seconds ago."

"You were eavesdropping?"

Lila laughed now, tossing her head back and making her laugh look sort of forced. "Silly, Arnold. I thought you knew we were the sources of gossip at school. How else do you expect us to get our information?"

"I don't know--"

"That's not the point," Rhonda interrupted, "the point is, when you wrote that fake letter to Helga, you weren't supposed to all of a sudden fall for her and make her life complete. The whole purpose was to give the girl a taste of her own medicine, make her feel some of the pain she makes others feel. But now _you're _going on and making her the happiest girl alive!"

"So, what's your point?" Arnold inquired, "I know you think Helga isn't worthy of having anyone fall in love with her, Rhonda. But that's where you're wrong."

"Oh God…" Lila trailed off, her eyes widening, "she didn't do some like, weird spell on you to make you fall for her, did she?"

"Stop it!" Now, Arnold was fuming, as he could feel his face burning up only slightly, "No, she didn't do any kind of spell on me. It just so happens that I know her more than you guys will ever know her."

"She's a bitch. What more is there to know?" Rhonda chuckled, "I mean, she goes around bossing everyone, punching innocent people like me for no apparent reason, purposely giving teachers a bad attitude…wow, Arnold. You're right. This girl is deep."

"That's exactly what I mean. There's more to her than just the mean façade that she puts on for people to see. I _have _seen that side of her, Rhonda…I've seen it more times than you could ever imagine."

"Look, _Arnold," _Lila sighed, now becoming clearly impatient as she rolled her eyes, "you can't like Helga. Being with her will completely ruin your reputation and you know it."

"The last time I checked, I didn't need approval from people on who I can and cannot fall in love with."

"W-wait a second, so you _are _in love with Helga?"

An awkward silence passed through the three of them as Rhonda and Lila both stared at Arnold intently, waiting for an answer. "Let's just say…I guess my reputation is going to be ruined." Arnold smiled at them, waving as he started to walk away. "I'll see you guys around."

As Lila and Rhonda watched Arnold walk away, staring after him absolutely dumbfounded, Lila asked Rhonda in utter disbelief, "so, what do we do now?"

"Pity him. That's all we can do." She shook her head, walking away from her friend angrily, stomping her feet as she went along her away.

* * *

"Now class, I recommend you take very clear and neat notes while you view this movie, because you never know if I'll give an open notebook quiz on what you saw," Arnold's biology teacher, a woman in her 40s, very plain but not in the least bit unattractive, advised everyone as she pressed play on the DVD player, switching off the lights.

'_Yeah, like I'll even be able to concentrate on this movie…' _Arnold thought to himself as he held a pen to his notebook, just in case the teacher glanced over in his direction. He stared at the screen intently, however he was in a complete daze, Helga being the only thing on his mind. '_What if she doesn't believe me when I tell her how I feel? Will she trust me enough? …Maybe I should just keep it to myself. No, bad idea. It'd slip out eventually anyway.' _

"Arnold, pay attention." His teacher instructed, noticing the dazed look in his eyes.

"Oh, uh, sorry Miss Smith." He ignored the turns of heads in his direction, as he began to pretend to take notes in his notebook. His thoughts about Helga were once again distracted when he felt a tap on his shoulder and saw a folded up piece of paper on his lap. His glance cast sideways, only to see Gerald looking at him smiling while mouthing, "read it."

Arnold looked at him with a look of confusion on his face, but regardless, he unfolded the note and studied it as if it was a study guide for a test next block. The note read: '_Make good "notes," man. It make come in handy. Give the "notes" to Helga, too, since she might not be excused from the "movie" when she comes back.' _

Looking back at his best friend, the confusion on his face now even more clear, he mouthed "what?" and pointed to the note.

Gerald simply mouthed back, "just think about it, oh dense one."

Suddenly, as if a light bulb appeared over his head at that exact moment, Arnold smiled widely at the boy next to him, giving him a thumbs up.

* * *

Walking to the park was torture. It's not that she didn't want to see Arnold, but she knew what hardships could be facing her when she arrived there. She stopped in front of the bench where Arnold was supposed to meet her, but he was o where to be found. '_Criminey, it's 5:10. I thought I was the one who was gonna be late. He couldn't have forgotten…'_

Helga sighed, sitting on the bench slouched down very low. '_Or…maybe he had no intentions of coming here at all…' _She felt the tears well up in her eyes at that thought, but quickly shook her head hoping that would stop them.

'_You're just being paranoid, Helga. Give it another five minutes…he'll be here.'_

"Give this to Helga…don't stop for chocolate. Give this to Helga, don't stop for chocolate…" she heard a voice repeating from close by, only to look up and see Chocolate Boy standing in front of her. _'What the hell…'_

"Chocolate Boy? What are you doing here?"

"I was told to give this to you, and not stop for chocolate. It was hard, but it was for a friend." He smiled hopefully at her, holding out an envelope and his other hand, as if to receive something in return.

"Oh, uh…thanks…" Helga took the envelope from his hand, and looked at him, wondering why he wasn't leaving. "Oh, um…" She reached into her pocket, pulling out a semi-melted chocolate bar, "here ya go, kid. Thanks."

"Aw, you shouldn't have." He smiled, even though thy both knew he had expected some sort of reward for doing someone a favor. He scurried off, not wasting a minute in devouring the chocolate.

"Now what could this be…" Helga said to herself, opening up the envelope and pulling out a neatly folded piece of paper. "Who in the right mind would…" She stopped, once she recognized the handwriting almost instantly:

_Helga,_

_Before you get mad, I didn't forget about you today. How could I forget about you? Just continue reading this and hopefully you'll understand the reason._

_I made a lot of mistakes lately. I broke your heart, lied to you, led you on, purposely avoided you. I thought for sure the first time I hurt you, that you would never talk to me again. And for some reason, that killed me. I was determined to gain back your trust, and I had no idea why, but when I finally did, I felt more alive again._

_Then, you spilled your heart out to me at the park. That day scared me, because I didn't know how to handle it all. You were devastated, and again, it killed me. All I want is to see you happy. And then, I kissed you. And I did tell you I took the whole heat of the moment thing back. And I really do. I don't regret that night, or last night for that matter, at all._

_I've seen you go from an innocent pre-schooler, to the bully of the school, all the way to the nicest most down-to-earth girl I've ever met. And that's the side of you I believe. It's the side I guess you only show to the people who you can trust, who you know won't walk all over you._

_What I'm trying to say is, I've fallen in love with you. It took me so long to realize it, and I curse myself for being so stupid and dense back a while ago. All the good times we've had together, and all the bad times we've been through…they've all been worth it, because they finally got me to this moment. I know people won't handle this very well at school, but if I'm being honest, I can care less. Because being open with your feelings to someone regardless of what others think is the right thing to do. _

_Love, Arnold_

_P.S. This isn't a fake again. Look up from reading and you'll see._

At that very moment, she didn't know what to do. Laugh? Cry? Scream of happiness? '_Oh right, look up.'_

Glancing up from the letter, she only saw Arnold standing there in front of her, looking at her timidly while shuffling his feet. "A-Arnold…I-is this…?"

He reached his hand out to her, pulling her up from the bench and bringing her body closer to his. "Every word is true, Helga. Please, trust me." There was silence, which was enough to make Arnold have a sudden panic attack. "Please, Helga. Forget Lila and Rhonda. Forget the past. Just know that I'm in love with you, and I know that your feelings didn't change, either."

Helga, for once in her life, looked Arnold straight in the eyes, a wide smile coming across her face. "No truth or dare game behind this, this time?"

"Never again."

"Because I swear, Arnold, if you--"

She was shushed once he placed a finger on her lips gently. "Never again, Helga." He removed the finger from her lips, leaned in closer, and kissed her once again. This time, there was no tension. No truths being hidden. No secrets being kept. There was no questions going on through either of their minds this time, just one word.

Perfection.

Once they separated, Arnold smiled brightly. "I love you."

"I love you too, Arnold."

**A/N: Gosh, I hope that wasn't too mushy, haha. I seriously had an amazing time writing this, and I hope everyone enjoyed this. Thanks to everyone who has supported. I'll try to make new stories very soon. (: THE END. :D**


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